What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

The Samsung KU7500 is a 4k UHD TV, the curved equivalent of the KU7000. It offers the same good picture quality, with great dark scene performance due to the high native contrast ratio. Motion is also better than average thanks to the quick response time. It isn't all good though, as the picture quality degrades rapidly when viewed at an angle and the HDR performance is limited.

Design

The design is identical to the KU7000, but with a curved screen. It has brushed metal borders which look quite good, and the same shiny metal V stand. The textured back adds a nice touch. It looks more premium than the KU6300 or curved KU6500.

Stand

The stand is made of metal, and in a similar design to most other Samsung TVs. It has the same cut and polish as the non-curved KU7000.

Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 13.1" x 37.3"

Back

Wall Mount
:
Vesa 400x400

The back has a textured finish which looks good. It is a bit more interesting than most other TVs. This is the same as the KU7000 and similar to the high end KS9000 series. If wall mounted the connections are still quite easy to access from the side.

Borders

Borders
:
0.51" (1.3 cm)

The borders have a brushed metal finish which looks quite good. They are also thinner than average which is nice.

Thickness

Max Thickness
:
3.03" (7.7 cm)

The TV appears thicker when viewed at an angle due to the curved screen. It is thickest at the bottom, and may stick out a little bit if wall mounted.

The picture quality of the Samsung KU7500 is good. The high native contrast ratio and the good black uniformity make this TV a good option for people who like to watch movies in a dark environment. Blacks are pretty deep with no clouding or light bleed visible even in the darkest scenes. For people with a bright room, the KU7000 will not be the best option, since it can't get really bright to combat glare and the screen finish does an average job with reflection. Upscaling is as good as with other Samsung TVs and gray uniformity is average, but dirty screen effect is kept to a minimum and should not be problematic, even for big sport fans. Viewing angle is also average, but is on par even with Samsung's higher end TV models. HDR performance is impeded by the lack of real local dimming and by the low peak brightness, even though the TV has a wide color gamut and is free of banding.

Good value:
Full-array/direct lighting is better for local dimming. As for the uniformity of the screen, it depends on the implementation. Some edge-lit TVs have more uniform blacks than some full-array TVs.

Even if Samsung markets this model as having "UHD Dimming", this is not a local dimming feature. It reduces the whole screen brightness when a small highlight is present on screen. The effect can be noticed on our peak brightness result, where any measure of the brightness under 20% screen ratio starts to get less bright.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more regular movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over SDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

The SDR peak brightness is, as the HDR peak brightness, bellow average. Small bright highlights get reduce by what Samsung call 'UHD Dimming,' but this is less problematic while watching SDR content versus HDR content. Overall, this TV is not very bright and would be best situated in a dark room.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more realistic movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over HDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

The peak brightness is below average for the KU7500 and is in line with the results that we got for the KU7000. Even if there is no local dimming, both of the smaller size windows get dim automatically by what Samsung call 'UHD Dimming'. This dimming can only be disabled if the TV is set to PC mode. Even when the TV is set to PC mode, the peak brightness is still low and will not be high enough to provide good HDR performance compared to other Samsung TVs in the KS Series that can obtain over a 1000cd/m² of brightness on the 2% size windows.

Gray uniformity is average and luckily not too much dirty screen effect is visible. All borders are darker with a large vertical band in the center being a bit more bright and warm. Dirty screen effect is not too obvious and even if there are some uniformity issues, the overall screen looks pretty smooth.

The viewing angle is average for the KU7500 and is the same as the flat KU7000. When compared to other VA TVs, the KU7500 performs as well as the best, such as the Samsung KS8000. This is still not much when compared to IPS or OLED TVs. When viewed from off center, contrast ratio goes down, the picture quality get reduced a lot and the colors start to get washed out and get a reddish tint.

Black uniformity is very good for this set and is comparable to the flat sibling, the KU7000. When looking at our test picture, some really faint clouding can be seen near the center, but this is really negligible and is only visible, since our test is really demanding. When watching a movie or just normal TV, no problems can be seem at all.

When displaying our gradient test picture, the resulting image is pretty smooth and without any banding normally associated with an 8 bit panel. When analyzing our test picture of the gradient, no particularly problems can be seen, even in the darker shades, where problems are usually more present.

Like the non-curved KU7000, the KU7500 supports a wide color gamut and is able to cover most of the P3 color space. It is not as wide as higher end TVs but this is definitely an improvement for HDR content.

The KU7500 is average at dealing with reflections. Due to the semi-gloss finish, direct reflections are large and diffused across the screen. This helps to reduce their intensity, but will be an issue for a room with a few direct reflections. For a darker room this is not an issue.

Motion

Motion blur is better than average due to the fairly quick response time. This results in good performance for fast moving scenes. When watching movies on the TV some small judder is always present. This is not an issue for most people as it is generally not noticeable except for people who are more sensitive to it. The TV has some motion interpolation options for people who enjoy the soap opera effect.

The response time is better than average, and provides good motion performance. For fast paced content some blur can be seen but it should be a good enough result for most content. The backlight flicker due to PWM dimming can be seen in the duplications following the logo.

Inputs

The input lag is relatively low across all sources, which is great. This should not be an issue even for the most sensitive users. The KU7500 supports most of the demanding resolutions, which is great for PC users. It has a 60Hz panel and so can't display a 120Hz input.

Input lag is low for all sources when activating the 'Game' special viewing mode, which is great. Chroma subsampling support adds about 17ms to each reading, but this is still low enough to be good for most people. The HDR input lag is also low, which is great.

To enable HDMI 2.0 full bandwidth for 4k @ 60Hz @ 4:4:4, enable 'HDMI UHD Color'. This is only possible on HDMI1. Chroma subsampling is supported and allows text to be clear across all backgrounds for those using the TV as a PC monitor. Like other Samsung TVs, the KU7500 doesn't support a 120Hz signal.

Sound Quality

The overall sound quality is slightly below average. Although the frequency response is quite good for a TV, there is distortion which increases as the volume rises. For people who don't care about the sound quality it should be ok, but otherwise a low-end soundbar would be an improvement.

Note: Sound Quality test for TVs reviewed before 2017 was performed at 75dB, 85dB, and Max SPL. Starting 2017, the target SPL levels have been changed to 70dB, 80dB, and Max dB SPL.

Average performance. Frequency response is decent at lower volumes, however, there is a noticeable amount of compression and pumping present under heavier loads. Additionally, low-end cutoff and maximum loudness are also decent.

Poor overall harmonic distortion performance. The amount of harmonic distortion is quite low at lower volumes, but at maximum volume, there is a noticeable jump in distortion especially in the mid-range.

Smart Features

The KU7500 has Samsung's Tizen smart platform, which is great. It works well and is very easy to use. In the initial TV setup it will attempt to identify connected devices for CEC control which makes the setup very easy. After initially turning on the TV, it can take 10-15 seconds to be able to use the smart platform, but this isn't long enough to be an issue for most people. The platform looks good and allows access to the Samsung app store which has plenty of content including Netflix, Amazon Video and Vudu. Plugging a USB drive directly into the back of the TV allows easily playing photos or videos.

When a new device is detected (such as when a computer is woken from sleep while plugged into an HDMI port) the TV automatically switches to this device. This may be an annoyance if you are watching other content at the time.

Apps

The Samsung app store allows access to a wide variety of apps to suit almost any media use, including Netflix, Amazon Video, Spotify and YouTube.

A single button to control the TV is located under the right hand side. It allows for basic operations such as power, and changing inputs or volume. It is easy to access if wall mounted but can be difficult to use, as each operation requires a combination of pressing and holding the button.

Remote

Remote
:
Smart

The smart remote is identical to that found with the high end KS* series of Samsung TVs and the non-curved KU7000. It is comfortable and easy to use, with voice support.

In The Box

Manual

Batteries

Remote

Wall mount spacers

Composite in adapter

Component in adapter

Cable management piece

Misc

Power Consumption
:
48 W

Power Consumption (Max)
:
134 W

Firmware
:
1142

Differences between Sizes and Variants

We tested the 55" (UN55KU7500). For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the 43" (UN43KU7500), 49" (UN49KU7500), 65" (UN65KU7500).

Note that the UN78KU7500 has a full-array backlight, so we expect it to offer better dark scene performance but worse gray uniformity.

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung KU7500 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.

The Samsung KU7500 has good picture quality, and works well as an all-round TV. It is almost identical to the Samsung KU7000, but without the curve so the increased price is hard to justify. With this price premium, it is competing with higher end TVs offering more premium features so it can be a bit hard to recommend the KU7500. Unlike the KU7000, it is available in a 78" variation which may offer good performance for the price.

The Samsung KU7000 offers the same good picture quality, with a flat screen. It has the same good motion performance and the picture also degrades when viewed at an angle. As the curved screen doesn't improve the picture quality, it's easier to recommend the Samsung KU7000 at the lower price.

The Sony X850D has a better than average picture quality, but really stands out in a bright room with wide seating. It has a low native contrast ratio, but the image remains accurate when viewed at an angle. It also has better motion for fast paced content, but worse input lag for gamers. If you've got a dark room go with the Samsung KU7500, otherwise the Sony X850D is a better choice.

The Vizio P Series 2016 is available at a slightly higher price, but provides much better picture quality with good local dimming to improve the dark scene performance. The motion blur and SDR input lag are also very good, so go with the Vizio P Series 2016 if you have a dark room. For a bright room, there are better TVs.

The Samsung KS8500 is a little bit more expensive, but offers more features as a high end Samsung TV. It offers better HDR performance as it can produce very bright highlights. It is also much better in a bright room as it has a coating which reduces reflections, and can get bright to combat glare. If you can afford it, go with the Samsung KS8500.

Better than average TV for a range of usages. Picture quality is good, especially in a dark room but lacks features such as local dimming to improve it further. Handles fast motion well but unfortunately the colors lose saturation and the image loses contrast when viewed at an angle.

What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

Slightly below average for watching movies in a dark room. Dark scene performance is good, but lacks local dimming to improve it even more. Those sensitive to judder will notice it when watching movies. For most people this isn't an issue.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

Slightly better than average for watching TV in a bright room. Picture quality is good, but degrades when viewed at an angle. Can't get very bright to deal with glare, and is average at handling reflections. Smart platform works well for casual watching.

Good for sports fans. Picture quality is good, but degrades at an angle. Uniformity is a bit better than average, so not much dirty screen effect should be visible. Motion blur is better than average which is good.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

Average for HDR movies. Supports HDR10, but lacks some features such as local dimming to improve dark scene performance. Picture quality is good, and supports a wide color gamut. Can't get bright highlights.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

Great for HDR gaming. Picture quality is good, and TV supports the HDR10 format. Doesn't support local dimming to improve dark scene performance, or to increase brightness of highlights. Supports a wide color gamut and HDR input lag is low, which is good.

Good choice as a PC monitor. Picture quality is good but degrades when viewed at an angle. Supports chroma subsampling for clear text across all backgrounds. Input lag for PC use is quite good, and there is less motion blur than average.

Questions & Answers

2 ANSWERED QUESTIONS

2

Hi, I am wondering if this KU7500 is worth buying more than the Vizio M43-C1 (2015 model) or not. I use it mainly as PC monitor and watch movies and play games a lot with my GTX 1070s in SLI. May I ask which one have better images and color reproduction? Please help me to decide. Thanks!

Go with the Samsung KU7500. Since it has a wide color gamut, you will get more saturated colors when paired with your GTX 1070, since this video card can do HDR. It also has some pretty good input lag result, which is especially good for gamers.

Hi, love this site; I am looking for a TV specifically for HDR gaming. Between the Samsung KU7500 and the Sony X800D, which would you recommend?

For 50" the KU7500 is better because the 49" X800D uses an IPS panel with poor contrast and black uniformity. The X800D is only better if you want to use black frame insertion in game mode; this flickers the backlight at 100 Hz which reduces motion blur but the flickering may be bothersome.
For 43" the KU7500 is slightly better than the X800D because of its 10 ms lower input lag, unless again you want to use black frame insertion in game mode.